THUNDER BAY - Having penned one of the classic stories that has been a staple of childhoods for generations, Sheila Burnford’s own name is now an everlasting fixture in the city she loved so much.
Burnford, author of The Incredible Journey, was inducted into Thunder Bay’s Walk of Fame during a ceremony at Victoriaville Mall on Saturday. The Walk of Fame recognizes influential people in the city of Thunder Bay and Burnford is the first inductee in six years.
“We thought it was fitting that today be the day to induct her,” said Brian Phillips, Victoriaville Mall manager. “She lived in Thunder Bay and the Port Arthur area for many years and she drew a lot of attention to that area during her tenure here.”
Burnford was born in Scotland in 1918 and lived throughout the United Kingdom. In 1951, she moved to and settled in Port Arthur. During her time here, she wrote her best known work, The Incredible Journey, which was made into a feature film by Walt Disney in 1963 and remade as ‘Homeward Bound’ in 1993.
Filmmaker and history professor, Ron Harpelle, who co-produced ‘Long Walk Home: The Incredible Journey of Sheila Burnford,’ is working to take her personal papers and works to create a Sheila Burnford Reading Room with the Thunder Bay Public Library.
“In terms of Thunder Bay and her place on the literary map, it’s formidable,” he said. “The thing I always thought about Sheila is people know her for her one book that became a Disney movie. She has other books that should be made into movies and people are working on trying to bring to the screen.”
“She is famous around the world,” Harpelle continued. “Her book is translated into something like 25 languages and copies continue to sell around the world.”
Burnford remained in the city until the late 1970s, which included several trips to Canada’s north with local artist, Susan Ross. Though she moved back to England, the city and the region remained with her for the rest of her life and continued to come alive in her writing.
“She is probably the most successful writer ever to live in Thunder Bay,” Harpelle said. “She lived here and Thunder Bay remained very close to her heart for her entire life.”
“When you read all of the articles and books and manuscripts and letters, it’s just filled with these glimpses of Northwestern Ontario that are just precious and described by an elegant writer who really is one of the best writer’s Canada has ever had.”
After she died in 1984, her ashes were brought back to Thunder Bay, demonstrating just how important the city was to her.
“She travelled the world,” Harpelle said. “She grew up in Scotland, she finished her life in Britain, but this is where she has been laid to rest.”
Attending the Walk of Fame ceremony was Burnford’s housekeeper and friend, Joan Stone, who remembers the writer always keeping busy.
“She was always busy doing something,” Stone said. “Then she started writing the books and she was away a lot. But she was a good boss.”
And it is very satisfying now, Stone said, seeing her name on the Walk of Fame, but it is her books that will continue to live on for generations to come.
“Good for her,” Stone said. “She earned it. She wrote all those books and she should be in there just like everyone else. I have all her books. She is an excellent writer. I gave them to my grandchildren. All of them.”
